Lenders will look at your income and current debts, such as credit cards, current mortgage, and student loans, to determine whether you’re able to take out a home equity loan. Lenders want to ensure you can pay back your debt so if you already have a substantial amount, you may not be an ideal candidate. Burkley said borrowers should have around a 40% to 45% debt-to-income ratio to qualify for a home equity loan.

This place is amazing. Been under their care for many many years now and they actually do deliver what nobody else can ever do to fix your mess with credit. Thanks to Yossi Av Tal and his team I have been able to clear many negative items and establish good credit. If you or anyone you may know that has any credit issues I highly recommend that you give them a call asap and let them help you today. There's no need to struggle.

Once you resolve issues on your credit report, it’s time to implement a strategy to start improving your credit score. The single best thing that you can do to improve your credit score is to pay current accounts on time and in full every single month. You can picture it as burying negative information under a mountain of positive credit information.
Hi , so I started out with a 421 in December 2014 , I had a foreclosure , no credit cards , horrible spending habits , collections etc. My foreclosure fell off my report and I went to 453 . I applied for a credit one unsecured card , high interest and annual fees but all I could get at the time (300 credit limit). Charged gas every month , maybe 50 and paid it right off .In March got a cl increase to 500. My credit went to a 479. Appied for a Capital one card w/ 300 cl. Got it , charged very little every month paid it off , in June got a credit increse to 700. Also got offered a platinum mastercard w/500 cl from Credit One . I also had my husband add me to his Capital One credit card w/ 1000 cl. As of July 15 my score is 556. Not ideal but every week I check with Credit Karma and my score is going up . It takes time but you have to be disciplined . My name added as a user on hubbys card and my new credit card has now shown up yet on my credit so Im hoping for a decent jump when it does . As far as old collections , I paid off a 1700 Fingerhut bill and it had no effect on my credit whatsoever , I really wish I hadnt paid it , it says paid but still shows as derogatory. Tommorow I am going to my bank and getting a 500 secured card . As you can see I started this quest in December 2014 when I decided it was time to take responsibility and do something and its been 8 months and my credit score has jumped about 135 points .
If you’re financially drowning, of course you can declare bankruptcy. The problem is that bankruptcy is a serious derogatory mark on your credit. It won’t prevent you from getting credit in the future, but for a time some credit products will be unavailable to you and others will come at very steep prices. Also, not all debts can be discharged in a bankruptcy.
The right way: You should expect some fees, but avoid excessive fees when you consolidate. You don’t want to make your journey out of debt any steeper than it has to be. It’s worth noting that a debt management program has fees, but they get set by state regulation. They also get rolled into your program payments, so you don’t actually incur an extra bill.
You cannot pay down your debt on your own and you continue falling further and further behind. “It makes sense to file bankruptcy when you can no longer keep up with your bills,” said Leslie H. Tayne, a debt resolution attorney and founder of Tayne Law Group, based in Melville, N.Y. “If commercial creditors are breathing down your neck or if you are in danger of losing your home, it may then make sense to file bankruptcy.”
To see any major or fast credit repair, try to balance your credit utilization. In the credit industry, there is something known as the sweet spot, which we covered above. The goal with this tip is to get your credit utilization into this category, or 25%-45%. So, we highly suggest creating a game plan by setting aside all your debt and categorizing in terms of priorities. Ask yourself the following questions:
Johnson said it makes sense to use this type of loan to help consolidate high interest debt such as with various credit cards because “the savings can be significant.” Using home equity loans to pay off other debts, such as student loans might also be wise, said George Burkley, owner of American Mortgage & Financial Services in Indiana — “[the] rates are usually much lower.”

“If you have to choose between debts to pay, skip the credit card bill because it's unsecured and a creditor can't repossess anything. Luckily, credit card delinquencies hurt credit scores less than bigger debts, such as home or auto loans,” says Sarah Davies, senior vice president of analytics, product management and research for VantageScore Solutions.

If you have a high balance on a credit card and are only making minimum payments, start paying down the balance. It's important to pay down (or even better, pay off) revolving accounts such as credit cards. This will lower your credit-to-debt ratio (what you have borrowed in relation to what you could borrow), and is one way to improve your credit score. Paying off installment loans such as auto loans, student loans, etc. won't improve your credit score as dramatically.
Presently, there’s more and more consumer struggling to pay off their debt, some collection agencies are opting for unfair means to collect payments from debt-ridden consumers ignoring the debt collection laws. However, to stop such malpractices and help debtors combat such illegal collection agency harassment, the FTC has come forward with the FDCPA, which gives debtors legal rights to sue those debt collectors who illegally threaten, intimidate or harass them.
You need to review, in detail, your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies. You can use AnnualCreditReport.com to obtain your report for free. As you review the report, keep track of any information that you believe is incorrect. Credit scores are built using data from the credit bureaus, so it is important to ensure the data at Experian, Equifax and TransUnion is accurate.

Note: Below we’ve listed our favorite offers from credit unions and lesser known banks that provide balance transfer offers up to 12 months. If you need a longer intro period, you might be better off paying a standard 3% balance transfer fee for a card like the Discover it® Balance Transfer which offers an intro 0% for 18 months on balance transfers (after, 13.99% - 24.99% Variable APR).

The statement date (which occurs well before your payment due date) is the date listed on your statement when the credit card company records your balance to charge interest for the month. It is also the balance reported to the credit bureaus. If you are planning to make a lump sum payment to the balance and want to see the positive result to your credit score as quick as possible, make the payment well before that statement date so the new lower (or zero) balance is recorded and reported.
If you have one of those letters we mentioned earlier that details your credit problems, you have some idea of what’s holding you back. Even though it may seem complex, as we mentioned, your credit score is based on five core factors: payment history, credit utilization, the age of credit accounts, mix of credit accounts and history of applying for credit. They’re not equally weighted, and this information will most likely vary between credit bureaus.